Beautiful Books — Witchling (part two) // Also, NaNo updates

According to the title, I also promised NaNoWriMo updates so let’s chat that first, shall we?

Last week my older sister and I went on a road-trip together. I didn’t get much written (about 1,000 words total) but it was wonderfully inspiring — everyone ought to try to road trip at least once per year. While we drove past rain-wet fields, deeply green pastures, forests of skeleton trees, and under the arc of pearl-grey sky, I spent a lot of time thinking about my books and planning my writing schedule out for the next few months. In a nutshell, with everything happening during the rest of November (helping a sibling move, fall-cleaning, Thanksgiving preparations, etc) realistically it would be well-nigh impossible for me to write 30,000 words on Witchling. Hence, I changed my goal to 10,000 which I reached this past Tuesday (YAY) and I am going to focus on Blood Thread for the rest of the month. I’m hoping to finish it before NaNoWriMo is over (Lordwilling) and I’ll spend the first two weeks of December editing and polishing it. It’ll be about 25,000 words long by the time I’m done and I have big plans for it.

So, there you have it! All the rest of my NaNo word-count will be going towards Blood Thread, and I feel much more at ease about my stress level — which has been higher because I’m sick right now. woe is me

By the way, I am very curious about how your NaNo battle is progressing, folks! Tell me ALLLL about it in the comments, please and thank you. *gives everyone rejuvenating chocolate* And as for anyone not doing NaNo, I’m still curious about your writing, my precious.

Beautiful Books — Part Two

Is the book turning out how you thought it would be, or is it defying your expectations?

It’s has been a very obedient child for the most part, but at least three times it has suddenly darted from the beaten path and I’ve had to race after it and drag it kicking and screaming back.

What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?

Oh, since you asked so nicely.

“The children are approaching, ma’am.”

(cue the suspenseful music.)

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Have you ever tried both methods and how did it turn out?

I’m a conglomeration of the two (plantser). My method is as follows:

Step One: Do a rough outline of the story with all the major plot points charted out.

Step Two: Trot merrily along from point to point and encounter all sorts of delightful shenanigans along the way.

Step Three: Become stuck with no idea how to get to Point (insert random number).

Step Four: Write a rough scene-by-scene outline.

Step Five: Write industriously with many moments of varied emotions.

What do you reward yourself with after meeting a goal?

Sometimes the warm, fuzzy feeling of having reached said goal is enough. If not, I break out my chocolate stash (it’s very small, but IT IS ALL MINE.) Other rewards include watching a TV episode, reading, sharing snippets with friends, browsing Pinterest…. basically anything I particularly enjoy.

What do you look for in a name? Do you have themes and where do you find your names?

I like names that have a snap to them. I like to toy with words and turn them into names — such as Prism. Most of my names are gleaned from meeting people, looking at gravestones, checking baby name sites… sometimes I look up names based on the meaning or I take foreign names/Latin words and manipulate them into my own thing. If I hear a name I like there is a 99% chance I’ll incorporate it into a book. And I always have a list of names in the back of my mind just waiting for that perfect character.

What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?

Beginnings are wonderful, also scary. But I love the emotions of finishing a book. There’s nothing like it.

Who’s your current favourite character in your novel?

WHAT SORT OF QUESTION IS THIS I ASK YOU.

What kind of things have you researched for this project, and how do you go about researching? (What’s the weirdest thing you’ve researched?!)

I actually haven’t researched very much. I tend to leave that for the second draft. One thing I did look up was how to make souffles. Needless to say, I’ve been craving them since then.

Do you write better alone or with others? Do you share your work or prefer to keep it to yourself?

I write best when I’m completely alone in a room, but word wars are amazing things so I (politely) bribe/beg my friends and younger sisters for them. Sharing snippets of my work with others is terrifying and exciting all at once. I love it.

What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!

Sequester myself at my desk, turn epic music on, make sure my glass of water is near by and write like I’m being chased by all nine of the Nazgul. I can’t snack whilst I write because I find it too distracting. I write best in the morning/early afternoon. Rarely ever do I write in the evenings.

(stay tuned for Part Three next month!)

In other news, I voluntarily entered the black hole of k-drama last week (I know, I’m questioning my sanity too). I’ve only seen City Hunter so far, but it was glorious and has so many martial arts scenes and plot twists and it destroyed my feels. I literally sat there and sobbed when a Certain Character died, and I can count the times I’ve done that during a film on one hand. I’ve entered the ranks of k-drama fangirls and I love it. My family thinks I’m mental. I fully intend to drag them down with me. *maniacal laughter* It’ll be epic.

Alright then, cyberspacelings! Tell me all about your NaNo experience so far. How goes the war? Are your books/characters being good, little creatures? Are you a k-drama fan? If you’ve seen City Hunter, let’s chat!

NaNo started out as a sad struggle when i realized that i don’t write pretty first drafts. But i’m getting over that, and right now I’m just happy that I’m actually writing. My characters and being good; I think i have enough plot to last me to 50,000 words, but not 100% sure. The hardest part has been writing action/fight scenes. bleh. They are not fun. 😛
Ooooh all of your stories look really cool! I just read the blurb for I Am Juliette, and ooooh i like it. 😀
I haven’t seen any KDramas yet, but i did recently fall down the rabbit hole of anime and manga. Fullmetal Alchemist (manga) and Attack on Titan (anime) are especially good.

Awk, being sick sucks. D: I hope you get better soon!! I was the worst sickestness (that is totally a word, don’t doubt me now) in October when I was trying to write an epic fantasy. XD I … I take no responsibility for the rubbish I wrote while dying and on cold medication. HEH. *ahem* It’s going to be fuuuun editing. >_>
Writing like all the Nazguls are on your tail is EXCELLENT advice. I need to take that up too. *nods* I write like I’m going to get cake afterwards, which also works nicely.
Also I have NOT seen any k-dramas ever, but I kind of want to?!? ONE DAY?!?!
Thanks for joining in the linkup! 😀

Hooray for you! NaNo’s going well for me, even if it feels like I’m treading water. (Which I’m terrible at.)
Now I’m all curious about k-dramas! I’ve heard of them before, but haven’t seen any. I’m afraid I’d go into some kind of culture shock, but I’m really curious. 😀

I enjoyed reading about your road trip and your WIPs. ^_^ It sounds like it was such a lovely and inspiring experience! And I’m glad to hear that progress is going well on your stories, even with changed goals (which are never a problem!)

As for my project… oh. I was literally working on it when an email came in, and then I saw the email for this blog post, and I was distracted. Oops. I BETTER GO WORK ON THAT. AND TURN OFF EMAIL. Although this has been a lovely distraction, and I thank you. *bows*

Yay for road trips! I’m tempted to scale back my goal as well, since I anticipate getting next to nothing done over the Thanksgiving weekend. If I were to write 833-900 words each day until the end of the month, I could reach my 25,000-word goal, but right now 20,000 is looking more realistic. But I’m stubbornly not changing my goal in hopes that some miracle will occur and I’ll actually reach it (and still have plenty of time for family and sweet potato casserole).